New World Sensation
by Nibui-chan
Summary: In which two groups of girls start their journey across school idolhood, aiming for the Love Live! Who will win? AU
1. Chapter 1

**µ's Side**  
 **The Navigators**

"Hurry up Kayo-chin!" Rin ran across the streets while holding her best friend's hand and dragging her at a pace that the latter could barely keep up with.

"Wait, Rin-chan!" Hanayo felt out of breath, she wasn't used to such a workout so early or to being so energetic, "Someone, help!"

Much to Hanayo's relief she felt someone pushing her, keeping her strong enough to help match Rin's pace but soft enough to prevent a fall.

"Hurry up, Hanayo, we need to make a quick stop before reaching our classroom!" Nico was the one pushing her.

"Nico-chan! Good morning nya!" Rin spared a quick glance at her before facing forward again "Then, Navigators, go!" Rin cheered, lifting her fist, then Nico followed and lastly Hanayo. They imitated Rin's action, showing their spirits.

For then on, everything was going to be great, or so they thought.

The three girls ran through the school gates, completely ignoring the boards in which their names were written, listing the first years names and groups, they ran across the halls as if they weren't just freshmen in the school and didn't stop until they reached their destination: the student council room.

Hanayo and Nico stopped for a second. They had to recover their breath after the long race the three of them had, they couldn't help it, they were so fired up.

"Rin…" Nico said looking her in the eye, Rin understood the message and knocked on the door.

"Come in," A soft voice came from inside the room, they smiled, because it was a voice that the three of them could recognize, just as Nico predicted.

"Nozomi-chan!" Rin shouted, opening the door to tackle hugging said girl, Rin was very fond of Nozomi, and after so much time- almost two years- of not seeing her, it really fired up Rin.

"It doesn't surprise me that the two of you are student council members," Nico said knowingly, but there was also a smug tone in her voice, the cat-like smile pasted on her face didn't help that much either, "You nerds."

"Nico," Eli's eyebrow twitched, "Is that the way you should talk to your upperclassmen!?"

"Ehhh? Weren't you the one who banned all kinds of senior-junior interactions back then?" There it was. Eli tried to think of a comeback but the words got stuck in her throat, she did in fact say that.

"She did."

"She did, nya."

Nozomi and Rin teased Eli at the same time. The blonde pouted.

"You should be on my side, Nozomi," She said with an expression Nozomi could only call 'adorable', "You bully."

"Now, Eli. Nozomi. Give me the club application forms."

Eli and Nozomi stiffened, looking each other in the eye, then Eli just sighed.

"Well, where are the other two members?"

Rin tilted her head, confused, "They are here though."

"We aren't going to join this time girls."

"Eeeh!? Why not!?" Nico was confused, "After everything that's happened, are you going to-" She stopped when Nozomi's hand fell on her shoulder.

"Well, a lot has happened, and Nozomi thinks it's best if we don't join, or at least not so soon," Eli sounded apologetic enough to convince the others, "It's not like we're against you three in this, if you get the the members and do the paperwork there shouldn't be a problem, we are still friends, remember?" She offered Nico a paper, the girl looked at it, pouted, and finally took it.

"Come on, Nico-chan, we need to get to our classroom soon."

"Yeah, that's right."

Rin was about to open the door when Eli spoke, "By the way, girls, it's good to see you again, we both missed you."

There was a soft look in her eyes and a warm smile in her face, one that worked well enough to bring Nico's spirits up.

"Let's go, nya!" Rin took her friends' hands and dragged them out, but instead of running they just started walking.

Eli and Nozomi just closed the doors and sighed.

"They don't know yet, do they? How much things have changed."

"It doesn't seem so."

"It's going to be hard for them."

"You could help out a little, if you just weren't so stubborn about this."

"That was what the cards told me was right."

— — — — — —

 **Aquors Side**  
 **"Not A Fateful Encounter"**

"And then the fliers went flying like bouah! And like fueah! and when I ran to chase them I saw it-"

Chika's rambling was stopped when she ran out of words to say as she stared at the sky, she was talking with her lifelong friend Kanan, "It was an all-you-can-eat coffee shop! It was a miracle, don't you think!?"

Kanan's brow twitched, "Weren't we here to talk about you wanting to become a school idol!?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm going to give it a try, being a school idol."

"What does that have to do with you finding a buffet?"

"Because there I found a cute blonde watching a school idol video and after talking a bit with her I decided that I'd give it a try."

Kanan sighed, she was starting to feel desperate, "Is that all? That's the reason you want to become a school idol?"

Chika felt intimidated by Kanan's tone and the fact that the girl had suddenly stood up from the table, "Calm down Kanan-chan, it's not like it's something bad or anything."

"You want to become a school idol just because you talked with a 'cute' blonde in a cafe."

The way Kanan explained it definitely made her feel a bit guilty for her motivations. The hard edge in her voice only reinforced her guilt further.

"Well, if you put it in that way, yes, it's a bit of a drag, but-" She was interrupted again as Kanan slammed her hand on the table and started to pick up her stuff.

"You'd better stop there if you're going to do it with that half-assed motivation, for your own good."

Something clicked in Chika's head as she stood up as violently as her friend did moments ago, surprising said girl a little.

"It's not half-assed, and I'm not going to stop without never starting, so just you watch, I'm going to do it," The girl walked away, still sulking, "And after I'm done with it I'll make you eat all the sashimi in my house, got it!?" And thus Chika walked away from the diving shop, to where the boat was waiting for it's departure time.

"Eat all the sashimi? That's pretty clever of you," Kanan said as if her words and the almost fight she had with her friend didn't just happen. She stared at the sky, "I'm not that good at playing this role, you know? I seriously miss you girls… Dia could make that girl quit if she wanted to, though."

=======

"Bye, bye, Mari-senpai, it was pretty fun having you as a friend all this time, be careful on your way home," A girl waved goodbye to her friend as the latter was boarding an expensive looking car.

They had flown together from America to Japan, but now it was time for them to part ways, her friend lived in Tokyo after all and she was going to Numazu.

They didn't feel sad about it, because they could call each other anytime.

"Bye bye, Minacchi! Take care of yourself and don't walk around wearing weird costumes! Not without sending me a pic!"

"I only did it that one time!" The girl cried at her friends teasing, as the car started moving and faded out of view due to the city's traffic.

She missed her already.

"Kotori…" An unexpected voice came from behind her, she turned around, facing her mother, the woman had a warm and welcoming expression. But beside her she couldn't find the other two figures she expected the most, "Welcome home."

Slight disappointment came down on her but she just smiled back, "I'm back, mom."

=======

Mari couldn't help but set her gaze out the window of the car, focusing on nothing in particular, the memories of what happened two years ago coming down on her harder and harder as she approached her destination.

"It been a long time, hasn't it? Two years… I can't wait to see you Kanan. Dia."


	2. Chapter 2

"Quarrels and a known place"  
µ's side

"It's afterschool, Nya!" Rin celebrated when the teacher dismissed them, jumping from her desk and almost tackling Hanayo with a hug, "What are we doing first, Hanayo-chan, Nico-chan?"

"I'm glad you asked, Rin," Nico brings her hands to her waist, "Because we're not doing anything yet."

"Ehhh? Why not?" Rin felt confused, she thought they were starting out right on their first day.

"There's a lot of things to do, as Eli said, we need to find members to join our club." Nico's explanation seemed to calm down Rin. Hanayo only nodded behind them.

"First, we should find Honoka and the others, and then convince Maki to join us again."

"So where are we going first?"

"We should search for them, since we don't know what they're doing," Nico pointed her finger at Rin, "You go to the archery club to find Umi, Hanayo's going to Honoka's," She pointed at Hanayo and then at herself, "I'm going to the music room to find Maki."

"And what about the others?" Rin asked, not getting why they will be searching only for these three.

"We've already talked with Eli and Nozomi, so we should not bother them for now, and we don't know if Kotori's back yet, so we should go with this for now."

"Why am I going to Honoka's?"

"'Cause you seem to be closer to her than us and you have better sense than Rin, as for her, she's going to Umi because they're almost sisters."

"And you are going to Maki because you have a senpai-complex." Hanayo said almost in a nonchalant tone, catching Nico off guard and making her cheeks red.

"T-that's! Erm, not, that's not it!" She hastily picked up her bag and walked to the door, "For now, let's get going!"

"She is avoiding it, nya"

"Indeed, she is." Those words were the last she could hear as she walked along the hall.

"I told you, it's not like that," She was pouting, "It's not."

The quiet corridors calmed her as she approached the music room, she knew Otonokizaka beforehand, she once sneaked in and went searching for Maki, who was playing the piano energetically, well, not just once, they had too many things to talk about, but lately they hadn't been able to keep in touch due to Maki's exaggerated worrying about her grades and Nico's cramming for entrance exams.

"Going to the music room?" An unexpected voice startled Nico as she was approaching said room.

"How could you know? Nozomi." She tried to avoid the question, but only got a knowing grin.

"I know. I also know you've been sneaking around for like, one year and a half?"

"You haven't told anyone, right?"

"Don't worry, I haven't."

Then Nico just kept walking, Nozomi following her, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," They walked quietly, almost in uncomfortable silence, until Nozomi spoke up, "I was worried, you know?"

"About what?" Nico gave Nozomi a quick glance, noticing her grin was replaced for a worn expression.

"About Maki, right when we were in first year she was friendly enough with us, but she started to withdraw herself again, I'd check on her often." The girl stopped, not knowing exactly how to continue.

"And?" Nico urged her on, stopping her pace as Nozomi just stood there.

"I felt surprised when I found about you, surprised and relieved, I didn't have to worry to much about her, because you were there with her."

"Of course The number 1 Idol in the Universe would take her time to keep the company of her number 1 fan." Nico who didn't know how to reply just used her idol persona, striking her trademark pose.

"Thanks," Nozomi turned, "I have to go, Elicchi must be wondering where am I, good luck with Maki."

— — — —

Aquors side

"So… this is your plan…" You wonders, looking at the flier Chika showed her, "'Come join us at the school idol club, you'll have lots of fun!' There's a drawing of you and some mikans."

"So, what do you think?" Chika stared patiently at her, eyes shining with a sparkle You couldn't quite recognize, she wasn't sure, but it could be enough.

"Right, it sounds like a good plan."

"Right?"

"If its you, I'm sure you can do it."

"That's it, we just need another three members to join and we'll be a club," Chika looked at You in the eye, as if wanting to tell her something, "Then we'll shine on stage."

"Yeah, yeah," You kept quiet while her head processed the words of her best friend.

"Hey, what do you mean with 'we', have you already got a member to join?" She asked, staring back at the girl, "I'm not going to join, you know?"

"Eeeh!? Why!?" Chika jumped at her tackling her with a hug, "You-chan, let's do it together…"

"I'm sorry, the swimming competition is coming up and I'll be busy with training and the swimming club."

Chika heard the words 'ace of the team' echoing in her head as she undid the grip on her best friend's torso and pouted.

"Meanie."

"Don't worry, Chika-chan, if you ever need something, don't hold back and ask."

"I need you to join my club." She turned, still pouting.

"Chika-chan…"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry."

"Are you mad?"

The girl wasn't facing her, so she couldn't say, but a soft giggle gave her the answer she needed, "No, I'm not mad, thanks, You-chan."

-

"So?" A sharp voice asked, cold enough to freeze you to death, she could feel the blood draining from her body, "What was all that ruckus you were elating earlier." The raven haired girl was waving one of the fliers she was handing out.

"Aaah, you see… you know, when you want people to join your club you usually try to promote it, and-" She was clearly nervous under the glare her upperclassman was giving to her, the fact that they were alone in the office was not helping at all.

"I don't remember any school idol club existing on this school."

"That's why I'm making one."

Dia stood from her seat, clearly enough, she was pissed off.

"Are you aware of the fact that you aren't allowed to do any kind of scouting for a club until it gets official approval from the student council?"

"But how am I supposed to scout someone if you don't let me?"

"That's up to you to figure out," The slight grin on Dia's face pissed Chika off, making her stand and walk to the door, "Even so, there's no guarantee that I approve your club." That made Chika turn to face her, she was clearly upset.

"Why is that?"

"Our school gets smaller and smaller by the second as there's fewer applicants each year, so our budget for clubs must be cut."

"That is…" Chika was left speechless, was everything against her?

"That's how things are, they can't be helped." Chika walked towards the door, defeated.

"I'm sorry, Takami-san," She could almost hear as she left the room.

"I'm sorry, Mari-san, but I've got to be the bad one this time."


	3. Chapter 3

"HonoUmiMaki"

Rin was an energetic girl, there's no doubt about it, she could keep her entire track team in shape back in middle school, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to behave when the situation called for it.

She got into the dojo quietly, leaving her outdoor shoes in the entry. It was only the first day of classes but the archery club was already practicing for the next competition.

When she spotted Umi, the said girl was pulling the bow string, aiming at the target, then she noticed her lips moving slightly, "Love arrow shoot," If she wasn't wrong.

And the arrow hit the target right in the center.

"Wow! Umi-chan, that's nyamazing!" Rin cheered making said girl turn, startled.

"Oh, Rin, long time no see," She said, holding down her bow and relaxing her expression, "How have you been?"

"Rin's been okay, I heard you won third place in the Tokyo preliminaries last year?"

"Yes, I did."

"Umi-chan you're incredible, nya! Congratulations."

"I don't think it is that amazing," Umi said, turning around, "But thanks, Rin, it's good to see you again."

They way Umi was keeping her cool surprised Rin.

"Umi-chan!" The cat girl basically tacked the older one with a hug.

"Did you come just to visit?"

"Yes, we've missed ya'll, nya"

"Are you by yourself? Where are Nico and Hanayo?"

"Nico-chan went to Maki's and Kayo-chin to Honoka's," She explained, lifting her index finger, "I've come to scout you, nya."

"Let's be school idols together again, the nine of us!"

Rin was clearly excited about it, but the mention of one of her childhood friends made Umi feel a little uneasiness.

"The nine of us?"

"Yes!"

"I'm sorry, this year will be a little hard for us in the archery club, I don't think I can afford any time for idol practice at all."

"Umi-chan."

"Don't worry, I can still help you with song lyrics and dance practice, It will not be everyday but its still better than nothing."

"But I want the nine of us to sing together again." Rin spouted, saddly and quietly.

"The nine of us, huh?" Umi whispered, "Then I don't think it will be possible."

"Why?"

"Have you tried to talk to Honoka lately?"

-

Nico kept walking along the corridors, there was a bad feeling in her gut since her talk with Nozomi, the feeling that something was quite wrong.

The music emanating from the music room wasn't calming that feeling as she was approaching. Maki taught her to understand music and her music always had that strong emotion, something you couldn't describe but left you breathless.

But this music emanated hard emotions and frustration, as if the one behind it didn't want to play.

"Excuse me, I'm going in," She announced herself as usual with Maki.

"Heh!?" The redhead playing the piano jumped in surprise after hearing the door opening, golden eyes locking with red ones filled with fear.

She wasn't Maki.

"Umm? You're not Maki."

"I'm... uh... I'm leaving, excuse me." The girl hastily picked her stuff up and hurried to the door.

"Wait!" Nico grabbed her hand as she passed by next to her, "Do you know her? Nishikino Maki." The girl relaxed her shoulders at hearing the name.

"Maki-senpai hasn't come here in a while, I wonder why too," The girl broke Nico's grip and turned away, "Now, if that is everything you need, I'll excuse myself."

"Do you like playing the piano?" The question was left in the air as the two of them stood there in silence for a while.

"I'm sorry."

-

"Welcome," A known voice sounded from the counter of the shop as Hanayo opened the door, "Hanayo-chan, it's good to see you." She said after turning and facing said girl.

"Good evening, Honoka-chan, it's good to see you too."

"What brings you by here? Are you going to have manjuu today?"

"Ac-actually I came here for you," she said shyly, understanding the other meanings of her words, "I came to scout you."

"Scout me? For what?" She said, as she continued to sort some manjuu in a box.

"µ's." That only word was enough to stop Honoka who stood there looking at the manjuu in the box.

"Is that so?" Her gaze was still on the manjuu, but at the same time it was aimed at nothing in particular.

"Is that a no?"

"Sorry, Hanayo-chan, but I no longer feel like becoming a school idol, not again."

"Why?"

"It made me lose sight of the important things."

"But…"

"Hanayo-chan, it's for the best," Hanayo could not say anything as the things said by her friend drilled trough her head. Honoka was wrong but she couldn't find a way to convince her otherwise, "I'm only good to give up, after all."


	4. Chapter 4

"Late Night Chat Room, Losing Confidence"

µ's side  
"So it didn't go well for you either, Hanayo,"

Late that night our first years started a chat room and talked about their day, neither of them could get Honoka, Umi or Maki to join, with that said, Nico couldn't even find Maki.

"I wonder what's happening with them, nya."

Rin was putting stickers in her replies, so it was easy to get what she was trying to say.

"Maybe they are thinking about what happened that time."

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain why Nozomi refused it."

"Why?" Hanayo asked, not being too sure if she got what Nico was trying to say.

"It was Honoka, Kotori and Umi's problem, Nozomi and the others are more mature than that and we aren't that angsty."

"Do you think?"

"Then what are we going to do?"

Nobody texted anything after that, they thought about their possibilities and the few available ones were a bit difficult.

"Should we start to search for new members?" Nico suggested, she was sure Hanayo and Rin would be against the idea but she still suggested, "We still need a new composer if Maki isn't going to be around."

"But, that's…" Hanayo stopped writing halfway, not sure of what to reply, Nico was right, they would need a composer, even if they get no members and continue as a trio.

"I know it's not the best, but what else can we do?"

"It's not as if Kotori was here, after all," Rin adds, and something in Hanayo's mind clicked.

'Oh, she forgot to tell them'

"Actually, ummm..."

They were a group three years ago, their name was µ's.

Honoka started it after talking with Hanayo, who wanted to be an idol but didn't feel confident enough to throw herself into it; Rin, who had a hard time fighting with some boys from elementary school and Nico, who was stubborn but didn't want to be one if it wasn't by herself, were her first members.

Hanayo felt very thankful for Honoka and her kindness, because she didn't have to bother with helping around her juniors, but she did anyway.

It took some more time to convince Kotori and Umi, Honoka's childhood friends, to join and somehow they got Maki, Nozomi and Eli too.

They started as school idols and every day was interesting, they could have their practice, write songs, make costumes and perform via internet from time to time. Some days would get tiring and frustrating but it was worth it.

Around the time their group started to be as famous as A-rise (A popular school idol group from Akihabara's UTX) they got bad news: Kotori was going overseas to study design, everything was decided as Kotori herself decided to follow her dream of being a designer.

Honoka did not take the news as well as everyone thought, a.k.a. she was completely against it.

Long story short, they fought and they probably hadn't talked again since then. That was the last time the nine of them were together in the same place.

Maki, Nozomi and Eli graduated and got into Otonokizaka, Honoka and Umi followed them one year later and then it was their turn.

They continued being school idols, but they didn't want to use the name µ's so Maki decided for them using the first song she composed for them.

Navigators, that's the name.

"I don't think you can avoid them for long Maki-chan." That was the first thing she heard upon picking up her phone.

"Are you not going to greet me, Nozomi?"

"It's good to know that you are doing fine, Maki-chan," Nozomi continued, ignoring Maki's frustrated sigh, "Avoiding them isn't going to be of any help, you know?"

"Why would I ignore them?"

"Also, Sakurauchi-san returned the copy of the keys to the music room we lent her."

"Would you at least pretend you can hear me?" Maki was exasperated at this point, Nozomi could say.

"You are too stubborn to even want to admit you were worried about them."

"I was not worried."

"Ergo, I was right," The silence to this point alerted Nozomi that Maki was about to hang up, "And? What are you going to do now?"

"Study, obviously," Before Nozomi could say anything else Maki spoke again, "My time is up, I don't have that chance anymore so you must be able to do it without me."

And, at this, the call ended, leaving Nozomi in a tough position.

-  
Aquors side.

Riko moved her hands unsure and clumsily, cardboard tape sealing boxes with her name written on them.

She was moving out.

Her father was offered a better job than the one he had and he accepted it without a second thought. That could be good.

The couple delayed the moving because of their daughter, because she had a piano contest and they wanted her to participate, she was working hard after all.

Now was finally the time to move out and a lot of things had to be prepared. She already returned the keys to the music room that the student council lent her, and her transfer papers were submitted.

She no longer belongs to Otonokizaka.

There was a feeling in her gut that told her she didn't want things to end like this, to run away from there like a coward, that she could do more.

The piano of the music room seemed more intimidating than before, and her fingers felt sore while playing it, she felt agonizing pain playing each piece.

Her own piano was different, maybe for the key that always sounded off at hitting it, no matter how many times she tried to tune it.

'Do you like playing the piano?' That junior's question left her thinking all this time.

Did she really enjoy playing?

Would she let her failure sink in further?

Why was she playing, anyway?

She took the music sheets and wanted to crumple them, but she could not do such a thing, nor could she manage to just throw them away.

She sat in the piano's seat and lifted the cover, setting the sheets down where she could read them.

Maybe she could find something by playing it, right?

But all she could find was a feeling of emptiness, as her fingers refused to play a single note.

She felt like crying.


	5. Chapter 5

"Rare Changes, Ruby and Friend"  
µ's side

Honoka was surrounded by her friends constantly, being the energetic and charismatic girl she was, she was pretty popular amongst second and third years, and there was no doubt that she would end up getting along with the current first years.

There were only a few things that could ruin the mood of the brunette and she was always ready to give a hand to anyone who needed it.

But it goes without saying that there were things that could upset her in matter of seconds.

Saying her strict friend's name would cause a sad smile to appear on her face and her designer friend's name makes her frown.

Thanks to the 'little' fight she had with her two best friends, things changed a bit. It ended what was normal for Umi, in the way Honoka always frowned at her and would only talk in small amounts.

Not to say that Umi didn't feel bad and lonely without her two best friends.

Good enough that she had archery practice with Rin and Nozomi beside her, they were always eager to not let her sink in the deepest possible loneliness.

It didn't seem to be a problem to Honoka, who at the moment was sitting and talking with Hideko, Fumiko and Mika.

Their maths teacher got into the classroom, urging her classmates to take their seats and get their notebooks.

Umi noticed an empty seat in front of her, was she sick? How unusual.

During classes Umi would look behind her and watch as her friend started to doze off, in different times she would scold her for being too lazy and Kotori would smile trying to calm down the situation; but Honoka won't hear her now, only if she went too far.

Someone knocked on the door, interrupting the lecture and grabbing the attention of the students and teacher.

It was their homeroom teacher who excused herself before walking towards their maths teacher.

"Sorry for getting in the way of your interesting math class," She started, sarcasm lacing her voice as she watched Honoka sleep. "Kousaka wake up!"

Umi heard the sound of her friend jolting awake and sighed.

"A pair of odd adjustments were made and there's two news, first, your classmate Sakurauchi Riko moved to Shizuoka and will no longer attend Otonokizaka."

Umi could remember that Sakurauchi girl, she was reserved and quiet spending half of her time going unnoticed, almost always eating by herself in the music room, she was friends with Maki too.

"The other one is that you have a new classmate, she's from an exchange program, but since she's Japanese it might be that some of you already know her." The teacher turned at the door, as a silver-haired girl walked into the room. "Her name is Minami Kotori. Please introduce yourself Minami-san."

Umi was kind of left breathless when her friend walked in, lots of emotions and thoughts crossing her mind as all she could think clearly was: 'Was Kotori this stunning before?' And a chill crept up her spine when the word 'shiny' echoed in her head.

"Nice to meet you." Kotori started talking, showing a soft american accent "My name is Kotori Minami, I went overseas to study fashion design as a part of an exchange program, now that I'm back my dream is to be a professional designer. Let's get along well."

Even through the soft and calm voice she used Umi could recognize her friends natural tone, the soft gaze that she would always give to Honoka and the hair loop on the right side of her head.

She was Minami Kotori.

Umi almost jumped out of the pure joy of seeing her, maybe Honoka would, but she could keep her cool most of the time.

Waiting for a reaction that never came Umi looked back at Honoka, and found her staring nonchalantly at the window.

Honoka turned slightly to see Umi and then Kotori, Umi turned at Kotori who was shifting her gaze between them.

"Well then, we should get back to class, Minami-san, take seat in Sakurauchi's former seat, right there." The teacher pointed at the only empty seat in the room, in front of Umi, the girl obeyed and walked over and sat. The sudden tension going unnoticed as everyone returned their attention to the class.

"Sonoda-san, lets get along well." She said before sitting, giggling at her.

"Oh, right." Umi was left speechless by the whole show that just started, wondering what would happen once lunch break starts.

-  
Aquors side

Chika was left with no other choice but to start scouting for the minimum number of members she would need to form her club.

As the only way she knew how to recruit members was to try and convince every other random student that crossed the school gates, things weren't going as smooth.

Soon enough, most of the students would be inside the building.

"Chika-chan!" She looked behind her, finding You at her side saluting in her trademark pose, "Any luck with scouting?"

"Not really," She brushed off her own bad luck as if it was nothing, but then smiled mischievously and circled her arm around her best friend's shoulders, "That reminds me miss, are you interested in-"

"No, I'm not, thanks." You cuts in, still smiling.

"Figures," Chika didn't even insist, just pouted, "But you don't need to be so rude, You meanie." She muttered, not saying anything else as something caught her attention.

"Sorry, Chika-chan, but you know I'm bus-" You was cut when her friend ran off, right to a pair of girls, if she had to comment, they were kinda cute.

"Hey girls!" She intercepted them with a smile, startling the redhead who hid behind the other girl's back, the girl just put her arm spread out in a protective manner, "Are you interested in school idols?" Chika practically shoved a flier in the face of the girl, who just pulled back and grimaced, looking at the flier with suspicion.

"Is this some kind of trick from the heavenly forces?" The girl mumbled to herself.

"Trick from whom?" Even so Chika could hear her.

The girl was about to say something when Chika's attention flew to the redhead behind her, who was analyzing the flier, she moved the flier a few times not being able to distract the girl.

"Are you interested!?"

"Do you do any lives!?" The girl answered cheerfully.

"No, we're only starting, that's why we need a cutie like you." At this Chika grabbed her hand. She could hear the other girl mutter 'Crap!' before the girl went from normal, to pale to red.

"Pigyaaaaaaaaah!" The girl's scream made Chika jump backwards and fall onto the ground.

"My favorite little demon is kind of a noisy one, she'd freak out if you touch her." The other girl said, covering her ears with her hands.

Chika noticed her error and tried to correct it, "I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I'll make up to you later, but right now let's just chill out." Or at least she tried, but then she grabbed her by the shoulders, something that made the girl even paler than before and run away.

"Wa-!? wait! Ruby!" The other girl chased after her leaving Chika with a blank stare on her face.

"Did I scare her off?"


	6. Chapter 6

Ep5  
"Similar encounter"

Ruby wasn't all that used to walking around Uranohoshi, she was certain of that when she wandered into the library. But it wasn't that bad, it was quiet enough to calm down her racing heart, the smell of old books refreshing her instead of the incense that was always burning in her house, it always caused her headaches.

She had always been afraid of people, when the moment came to meet new people she just stuttered her name and looked down, unable to say much more.

With her right hand alone she could count the number of friends she had so far and three fingers would be too much.

In fact she only had Yoshiko, the only person weird enough to not have any other friends, just like herself, it was good to struggle with someone, she felt like she wasn't alone.

It wasn't that she didn't like Yoshiko, she liked her, the girl was always so free, always expressing herself the way she wants, not afraid of anything, Ruby wanted to be like that sometimes.

Well, excluding the fallen angel part, she wasn't ready for that.

"Uhm? Its strange, I thought I closed the door yesterday, zura." A voice said from outside the library, Ruby stiffened, running to hide at a nearby shelf.

"Hello? Is someone in here?" The voice asked and Ruby wasn't sure if she had been caught, so she decided to remain silent.

"It's okay, you can come out zura."

Being found out, she could only squeak and open her eyes which she didn't realize were closed and glanced at the counter and saw a girl sitting there.

"How did you know that I was here?" Ruby thought she had hidden so well.

"Something smelled like strawberries and I liked it so I had to enter." The girl said and Ruby's pounding heart sent some blood to her face, blushing her cheeks.

"Uuh..."

"What's your name? Zura?" Ruby's mind was running a mile a hour so the question left her stuttering more than usual, the girl's smile was something that she had never seen before, and this was making her head a mess.

"Ku-Kurosawa R-Ruby." She muttered after a long struggle to get the words right.

"Then let's go Ruby-chan, class is starting soon. We are in the same class after all, zura," After saying this the girl grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the door, this time, Ruby's pounding heart was for other reasons than her shyness this time, "Ima Kunikida Hanamaru, I hope we can be friends, Ruby-chan."


	7. Chapter 7

"Kotori's improvised welcome, Mikan meets sakura"

µ's side  
Kotori's intentions were very clear to her since the moment she stepped in the classroom: Return to what she had before leaving, being friends with Honoka and designing clothes for µ's.

She and Umi kept in touch during her stay overseas, she felt a little lonely without them really being there.

Maybe she kind of lied to Umi a little about her returning date, but it was for the sake of seeing her friend utterly shocked and flustered, and it was worth, she didn't learn the Mari presence for nothing.

And even though she had come to talk to Honoka it was proven difficult when said girl sneaked out of the classroom so fast that even the teacher couldn't scold her for sleeping in classes.

But she would have returned by the time their next teacher arrived to class, so they couldn't talk with her at all.

As for Umi, she welcomed her with a smile.

When lunch break came they thought it would be easier to talk to Honoka, but she sneaked out and they couldn't find her before being tackled by the first years, who had also brought Nozomi and Eli along.

"Sorry, but that's all we could think after Hanayo told us yesterday," Nico said, pointing to Hanayo accusingly, "And she forgot, can you believe it!?"

"Don't worry Nico-chan, I actually wanted this to be a surprise, so I didn't expect anything," She dismissed it and faced Nozomi, "Where's Maki-chan? I haven't seen her yet."

Nozomi turned her head, as if not wanting to face her, nor Nico, "She must be in the library, studying."

"But I wanted to see her too." She pouted.

"Maybe later, I guess." Kotori looked at Nico, she always knew how close these two were, but Nico just shrugged and frowned.

"Where is Honoka-chan? I thought she would be with you." Rin asked.

"We couldn't speak with her yet, she seems to be busy," The tone in Umi's voice denoted that she was a little pissed off.

"Too busy to be with her best friend?" Nico was annoyed, somehow.

"She will come around soon, I guess"

"When? I don't see her nearby." Nico was pretty upset about something, Kotori could tell.

"She's not talking about now, Nicocchi," Nozomi stepped in tapping her junior's shoulder, "You are just so dense."

"Then, what is she talking about?"

"She's talking about Honoka," Eli stepped in as well, teasing Nico with a smug smile "Dense as a rock."

Like this the conversation flew from Honoka not being there to all the girls roasting Nico mercilessly.

'Brings a good vibe to the party' Kotori thought.

When the bell finally rang, Umi hurried to catch Honoka before she could sneak off again.

"Umi-chan…"

"Honoka, we need to talk"

And even if the teacher hadn't left yet and they attracted the attention from their classmates, Umi would not let go.

"What would you want to talk about? Umi-chan," Honoka's apologetic tone was contrasted with some kind of sarcasm, as if referring to something else, "Maybe that can wait for later, I'm in a hurry today."

"I've seen you busy today, That's why I want to talk to you, has something been bothering you recently?" 'As of today?' Umi omitted the last part, thinking it as unnecessary.

"I don't know what are you talking about, Umi-chan," She said, not meeting gazes of either Umi or Kotori, "It's just been kinda busy these days and I'm needed in home more often."

"I don't see why you would sneak out during breaks"

Like this, Honoka kept quiet, firmly staring at Umi with angry, defiant eyes; Umi challenged her back, not wavering even if the eyes looking at her were the same blue eyes she could not imagine holding any anger for anyone.

Their relationship has been like this for some time already, the few times they would talk with each other they would end up either glaring daggers to each other or not talking during weeks or months.

It wasn't that Umi wanted things going on like this, but she could not do anything to avoid it, as she wondered if their friendship was over.

"Umi-chan, Honoka-chan, what are you doing?" Kotori approached Honoka from behind, tapping her shoulder as she bumped into conversation, but said girl got away swiftly, almost as if the contact burned her.

They looked each other eye to eye for the first time and Umi could notice the hurt on Honoka's eyes before the girl turned and ran away from the classroom, barely being able to grab her bag before running.

The tension in the room could easily be felt by anyone as Kotori and Umi were left standing there, speechless.

Aquors side  
"So… how did scouting go?" You asked on the way home from school, even though she could figure out the answer judging from Chika's pose.

"Would you like to join the school idol club?" This was the nth time she asked but the answer hadn't changed, Chika knew.

"I figured as much." She leaned onto Chika's side but the girl threw her arms to the air.

"Why is it so hard to find someone!?" Chika lowered her arms, holding the flier she made in her hands, "Does anyone like school idols?"

The hurt and sad look in Chika's eyes made You's heart jump in agony, what could she say to cheer up her best friend? In what way could she help her best friend? When all she had done so far was refuse every invitation Chika gave her?

Chika hadn't given up so far and You could say that she wasn't to do it easily this time; so should she help her? There wouldn't be a lot of time to help because of her club but she could still do something, right?

She thought and she was ready to offer her hand, but her mouth worked faster than her brain, "You give up?" Was the only thing she could say before gasping in surprise and covering her mouth with a hand, waiting for her friends answer.

Usually these words were enough to pump Chika up, who would never let something like that slip up, but this time she only bit her lip and stared to the window of the bus. The rest of the way home they didn't say a thing aside from their farewells when Chika arrived to her stop.

She walked by the shore with You's question lingering in her mind, she didn't want to quit before starting, nor even after starting, but what other option she had? Things weren't going smooth at all, she'd already asked half of the student body and she was running out of ideas, it was terrible.

But something inside her knew, that she shouldn't give up, and if she gives up on this she probably should give up in life too.

And then, just as she was about to go to her house she saw a girl standing on the harbor, a girl with the prettiest red hair clad in an uniform she's never seen before.  
She could stand there admiring her stunning figure if the girl hadn't started to take off her blazer.

"What is she doing?" She started to wonder when she saw a ribbon being thrown to a side and the girl taking off her shirt, "No way," Chika said, running in towards the dock, "It's still March."

When the girl finished taking off her clothes Chika could stand there admiring the girl's legs or how that blue swimsuit fit her figure if said girl hadn't sprinted towards the sea.

'She's going to freeze!'

She reached her just before the redhead jumped off the dock, "Stop it!"

"Let me go!" The girl struggled, trying to free herself from Chika's grip, "I need to go!"

"You are going to die!" Both girls kept fighting, until Chika's foot slipped off the edge, pulling her towards the sea and bringing the other girl with her.

Splash!

She sneezed again, it had been ten minutes since Chika had brought the towels and started a fire but her body still felt like an ice cube. Another sneeze.

Chika threw another towel at her, a drier one, and sighed, "That's why I told you not to jump…"

"I'm sorry." Not feeling like insisting, Riko just apologized, the other girl just looked at her showing a little guilt, god, this girl was soft.

"And? Why'd you jump onto the sea like that?" The girl was frowning again but this time she showed no anger.

Riko wondered for a bit if it was OK to just tell this girl about her failure, sure, she has disappointed a lot of people back in Tokyo but that didn't matter anymore, but was it OK to disappoint one of her possible new friends?

"I was trying to hear the sound of the sea."

"The sound of the sea?"

"I am a pianist, and I'm trying to figure out a piece I'm composing…" Riko looked up a little, finding a confused expression, "So I was trying to hear the sound of the sea…"

"But, don't worry about it, I've already made up my mind," She continued, not giving Chika any time to retort neither looking at her, "I'm giving up piano."

Hearing these words ignited something inside Chika, Riko could tell, she wasn't sure what or why, "What? What are you saying?" Chika fell silent for a moment, but that was ok, Riko didn't want to hear someone disapproving her, "Are you going to give up just that easily? Did it ever-?"

"Chika-san." Riko's tone changed, charged full of resignation, and Chika seemed to get the fact that she didnt want to talk about it.

Lifting her head again, Riko saw Chika's expression and instantly regretted it, watching Chika wearing the same expression she saw herself with a few days ago, it broke her heart a little more.

No words were said after that.


End file.
